Say this: Thanks for calling, please give me your credit card number, the cost to speak with us is $500. Sometimes the dummies want to argue but I just say: Sir! your credit card please!
FBI/Internet Crime Complaint Center offer some tools to battle e-mail, tech support fraudsters
Network World | Jun 2, 2016 10:14 AM PT
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Security Mobile & Wireless Applications FBI
Not that summer time has anything to do with it but the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) warned that e-mail extortion campaigns and the tedious tech support scams have heated up in recent weeks.
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The IC3 said the recent uptick in email extortion comes from the data breaches at organizations like Ashley Madison, the IRS, Anthem and many others where tons personal information was stolen.
In the extortion e-mail scam, attempted victims are told that personal information, such as their name, phone number, address, credit card information, and other personal details, will be released to the recipient’s social media contacts, family, and friends if a ransom is not paid. The recipient is instructed to pay in Bitcoin, a virtual currency that provides a high degree of anonymity to the transactions. The recipients are typically given a short deadline. The ransom amount ranges from 2 to 5 bitcoins or approximately $250 to $1,200.
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The IC3 offered the following examples of the extortion e-mails:
“Unfortunately your data was leaked in a recent corporate hack and I now have your information. I have also used your user profile to find your social media accounts. Using this I can now message all of your friends and family members.”
“If you would like to prevent me from sharing this information with your friends and family members (and perhaps even your employers too) then you need to send the specified bitcoin payment to the following address.”
“If you think this amount is too high, consider how expensive a divorce lawyer is. If you are already divorced then I suggest you think about how this information may impact any ongoing court proceedings. If you are no longer in a committed relationship then think about how this information may affect your social standing amongst family and friends.”
“We have access to your Facebook page as well. If you would like to prevent me from sharing this dirt with all of your friends, family members, and spouse, then you need to send exactly 5 bitcoins to the following address.”
“We have some bad news and good news for you. First, the bad news, we have prepared a letter to be mailed to the following address that details all of your activities including your profile information, your login activity, and credit card transactions. Now for the good news, You can easily stop this letter from being mailed by sending 2 bitcoins to the following address.”
Read at: http://www.networkworld.com/article/3078165/security/fbi-extortion-e-mail-tech-support-scam-bags-turning-up-the-heat.html